Ten FIDY, One Imperial Stout

Thanks to the generosity of good friends, this evening I am able to indulge in a can of Osker Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout; a beer from a small Colorado brewery which has gained somewhat of a cult following lately, due to its scarcity (I’ve been told cans of it have been seen on eBay for $40, but I’m too dedicated to put mine up for auction). I’m not going to take the time to review it too in depth-ly because I’m drinking it while I write and, with an ABV of approximately 10%, it won’t be long after the last sip that I’m lulled to sleep.

Ten FIDY Imperial stout is a titanic wonder of a stout, immensely viscous, and loaded with neck-deep flavors of chocolate, malt, coffee, cocoa and oats. It’s the beer equivalent of decadently rich milkshake made with Whoppers malted-milk balls and Heaven’s best chocolate ice cream. Ten FIDY is about 10% ABV and is made with enormous amounts of two-row malts, chocolate malts, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops. Ten FIDY’s huge-but-comforting flavors hide a whopping 98 IBUs that are deftly tucked underneath the beer’s mountains of malty goodness.

Meanwhile some of the adjectives used to describe the beer in BeerAdvocate reviews are “black as onyx and as viscous as motor oil”, ” big, chewy, and thick”, “A decent whiff of coffee. Rich. Malty”, “Marvelous”, “An oil change for your liver” and “This beer doesn’t have any subtleties to it”.

I think the thing that caught me off guard the most about this beer, however, was that the opening of the can was eerily silent. There was no “pffsst” sound most cans have when opened; nothing but the sound of the aluminum.

While tracking this beer down is very hard to do, if you can get your hands on it – do so (and not just for resale on eBay). You’re in for a treat!

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2 comments

I love this stout. Pours black like motor oil but has a nice kick to it! Only problem I have with this beer is it’s price. I paid $12 for a 4 pack. Still cheaper than buying it at a pub but you certainly notice you could have bought almost 2 six packs of other craft brews instead. Still, thumbs up on this brew.

$12/pack is actually the lowest price I’ve ever heard of this going for so if you’re complaining about that price you’d hate to pay the normal $15 I see it for around my parts.

The 2011 is much better than the 2012 since I’m not a big smoked malt guy and the 12 Fidy has a very noticeable smoked malt profile. This beer ages very well and I highly recommend adding some each year to your cellar.